The craze of imbibing cold, fresh-pressed juices — both green and fruit — is here to stay. People like it; it makes them feel healthy. And in an effort to continue to ingest our vitamins and vegetables with as little chewing as possible, bars and restaurants have started adding greens to mixed drinks — and we’re not just talking about in bloody marys. These local chefs and mixologists are turning cocktails into a verdant drinking experience with the addition of seasonal produce and herbs.
A Tavola
Drink: Razzo — white rum, Yellow Chartreuse, muddled arugula, housemade jalapeño jam and lemon.
Utilizing popular ingredients the restaurant has on hand, general manager of A Tavola Jes Phelps created this now-permanent fixture on the cocktail menu. “It’s amazing when you can utilize items that you use every single day,” she says. “The inspiration behind this drink came from wanting to use all of those ingredients and have something that was fresh and vibrant and spicy and really summed up what our owners — the Waynes here at A Tavola — want to get across to our guests, which is something that is approachable and delicious and definitely Italian.” 1220 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine; 7022 Miami Ave., Madeira, atavolapizza.com.
Baüer European Farm Kitchen
Drink: Green Kaiser — Watershed Four Peel gin, dry riesling, pickled simple syrup and lime juice, garnished with fresh chervil, radish and parsley.
“I was watching The Usual Suspects and really fell in love with Kevin Spacey’s character, Keyser Söze,” says Baüer beverage director Thomas Daily. “I wanted to come up with a drink that matched his personality, something cunning and subtle, yet possesses a boldness within. The next day I started experimenting with some of our local and seasonal herbs and spirits. That is how the Green Kaiser was born.” 435 Elm St., Downtown, bauer-cincinnati.com.
Please
Drink: Sorrel Tequila Sour — French sorrel, tequila, simple syrup, lemon juice and egg white.
“Inspired by the overflowing amount of sorrel we had in our garden, the green lemony flavor seemed like a perfect flavor to play off a spring ‘sour’ pairing with the vegetal flavors of tequila,” says Please chef Ryan Santos. “Springtime is full of green, sour and vegetal flavors; to us the cocktail is a snapshot of the current season.” 1405 Clay St., Over-the-Rhine, pleasecincinnati.com.
Salazar
Drink: Eternally Even — dill-infused vodka, beets, Dijon mustard, lime and salt.
“This was named after one of my favorite albums of 2016 called Eternally Even (by Jim James),” says Salazar bar manager Steven Clement. “The album cover is a bright red color, like beets.” The restaurant also offers the Sound of Silence, with Navy-proof gin, English peas, carrot foam and lemon balm, which Clement says is named after the Simon & Garfunkel song. “They had a song on the Forrest Gump soundtrack (‘Mrs. Robinson’),” he says. “Forrest always would say, ‘Me and Jenny was like peas and carrots.’ ” 1401 Republic St., Over-the-Rhine, salazarcincinnati.com.
Sundry and Vice
Drink: I Spy — gin, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, French green bean juice and coconut water with a radish garnish.
Sundry and Vice’s new seasonal cocktail menu takes cues from the team’s favorite flavors from childhood. Owner and bartender Julia Petiprin says the I Spy was inspired by “growing up eating green beans basically every day at dinner,” with a coconut cream pie for a treat. The menu also features the Corn Maze, with vodka, sweet corn, lemon, cumin and a black pepper float; and a creamy Double Dutch, with rum, carrot, lemon, ginger and egg white. 18 W. 13th St., Over-the-Rhine, sundryandvice.com.
